Where Tua Landed in QB Rankings

When it comes to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, there are things that are undeniable.

He's got a quick delivery. He's very accurate. He has had his difficulties against upper-tier opponents. And injuries have been an issue.

Where there is little agreement is where he ranks among NFL quarterbacks. It's a neverending topic on social media with his supporters saying he's limited by a leaky offensive line and his detractors pointing to the team's shortcomings in key late-season matchups.

Because football don't tell the whole story, it's not as simple as saying Tagovailoa led the NFL in completion percentage in 2024 after being No. 1 in passer rating in 2022 and in passing yards in 2023, or that he was last in air yards per attempt this past season.

No, QB rankings are subjective, and everybody can have their opinion.

WHERE THE NATIONAL MEDIA STACKS TUA

So where do national media members put among the NFL quarterback fraternity, a group usually led by any combination of Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow, who form the consensus very top tier.

National outlets like ESPN (QBR) and Pro Football Network (QB+) have their own statistical formula to rank quarterback, while others simply have writers rank them based on their views and analysis.

That said, Tagovailoa ranked between No. 8 and No. 20 in seven national media outlets — NFL.com, ESPN, The Ringer, FOX Sports, PFN, Sports Illustrated and The Athletic.

Not surprisingly, Tagovailoa's injury concerns were mentioned as a factor in some of the analysis.

The highest of 8 came from PFN, which wrote, "Tua Tagovailoa missed the last two games of the season, and while the offense’s mediocre performances demonstrate his importance, they further highlight the injury concerns he carries into this offseason. ... When he was on the field, Tua was largely consistent. He lacked any truly dominant performances, with a B+ performance in Week 11 against the Las Vegas Raiders being as good as it got this season. ... Tagovailoa only had one performance with a grade below a C. However, that came in Houston (F) in Week 15, when he needed to be at his very best. The Miami Dolphins essentially needed to be perfect to finish the season, and despite the Texans being ineffective themselves, Tua imploded."

The lowest ranking came from The Athletic, which had him at number 20.

For the record, Tua was 12th in the SI rankings, he was 15th in ESPN's QB Ratings, The Ringer had him at 16, NFL.com at 18 and FOX Sports at 19.

SI writer Matt Verderame wrote that "if he’s healthy, Tagovailoa has proven to clearly be an above-average starter."

Steven Ruiz from The Ringer had a longer analysis.

It read in part: "Tagovailoa may be a system QB, but this particular system doesn’t work without his skill set.

"It’s impossible to divide credit for Miami’s prolific passing game. It’s obvious that Tagovailoa is not solely responsible for his impressive stat line—McDaniel and Hill have inflated those numbers—but he’s also not solely to blame for this team’s inability to beat good opponents. Those games against more talented teams do shine a light on the already glaring holes in Tagovailoa’s game, though."